Gretzky future unclear

Wayne Gretzky almost certainly will be out as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, should the National Hockey League defeat BlackBerry king Jim Balsillie in an Arizona bankruptcy court today.

One of the apparent conditions of sports magnate Jerry Reinsdorf's lowball offer to purchase the bankrupt Coyotes is to end the onerous multimillion-dollar relationship with The Great One.

Gretzky is set to earn $6.5 million US this coming season and $8 million the following season -- and Reinsdorf wants nothing to do with paying a coach five or six times the league average coaching salary.

Gretzky's original salary was partially paid to coach, partially to secure his ownership stake in the Coyotes franchise. Should Balsillie win his bid today, Gretzky will be owed some $22.5 million from the deal. Should Reinsdorf end up with the team, it is unknown how well he'll make out.

The conditions of Reinsdorf's cut-rate offer have not been revealed by the NHL, but it is known that commissioner Gary Bettman is a close friend of Reinsdorf's, the majority owner of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox. And while Reinsdorf has indicated he would be streamlining his operation should he be awarded the Coyotes, he apparently has no intention of paying Gretzky what he has been making, especially considering he has yet to make the playoffs in four seasons behind the bench.

Reinsdorf has yet to meet with Gretzky to discuss the situation.

Gretzky has said little about the bankruptcy of the Coyotes, though there was a report indicating he was backing Reinsdorf's bid.

On the NHL payscale, Brent Sutter of the New Jersey Devils is thought to be the NHL's second-highest paid coach at $2 million a season and Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders the lowest at around $400,000.